1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a door handle provided with a lamp unit including a circuit board on which a light emission element is mounted.
2. Description of Related Art
In some door handles, a circuit board is supported by a housing, a light emission element that functions as a light source is mounted on the circuit board, and light emitted from the light emission element is radiated in a predetermined direction (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication 2010-229797 (JP-A-2010-229797), Japanese Patent Application Publication 2009-133133 (JP-A-2009-133133), and Japanese Patent Application Publication 2006-9279 (JP-A-2006-9279)).
JP-A-2010-229797 and JP-A-2009-133133 describe a light unit provided in a door handle that illuminates an area around the user's feet when a door is opened or closed. By illuminating the area around the user's feet, the user can see whether there is a puddle or the like when the door is opened or closed, and thus the user-friendliness increases.
JP-A-2006-9279 also describes a light unit provided in a door handle. In the light unit described in JP-A-2006-9279, an internal space is defined by a housing (case) and a lid, a circuit board is disposed in the internal space, and the light emission element is mounted on the circuit board. A connection code passed through the housing is connected to the circuit board, driving current is supplied to the light emission element via the connection code, and light is emitted from the light emission element in a predetermined direction.
In the door handle described in JP-A-2006-9279, however, the connection code is passed through the housing, and a load is applied to the circuit board, via the connection code, when the external force due to vibrations occurring during a vehicle travel acts on the connection code. As a result, the circuit board may deform or the connection state between the connection code and the circuit board may become unstable.
On the other hand, in a case where a dedicated support member for supporting the connection code is used in order to prevent the load from applying to the circuit board, the number of the members increases, which leads to the high manufacturing cost.